Helix-winding machine



NOV. 4 A. H. JONES HELIX WINDING MACHINE Filed May 19. 1925 4Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Allan HJones.

@0197101 KQEZI Q QWWW ATTORNEYS Nov. 24, 1925. 1,562,645

A. H. JONES HELIX WINDING MACHINE Filed May 19, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 3Ill Hi III EI III I g E I H O 33 km *3 v; *3

INVENTOR fl/bnfidbnes,

I 1/1/7/ WW ATTORNEYS Nov. 24, 1925 A. H. JONES HELIX WINDING MACHINEFiled May 19, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Allan H. Jones.-

ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 24, 1925 UNITED ST ES PATENT OFFICE.

ALLAN H. JONES, F TBELLEVILLE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR '10 ROLLER BEARINGCOMPANY OF AMERICA, 0]? NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

HELIX-WINDING Macrame.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, .ALLAN H. Jones, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Belleville, in the county of Essex and State of NewJersey, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements inHelixlVinding Machines, of which the followmg is a full, clear, andexact description.-

In making rollers" or the helical or socalled spiral type for rollerbear ngs a method commonly employed involves winding a flat strip ofmetal to helical form on a mandrel of the proper diameter, after whichthe helix thus produced is out up into lengths suitable for theindividual rollers.

The present invention relates to the wind' ing or coiling of, the strip,and its chief object is to provide a machine for that purpose by which ahelix of practically unlimited length can be wound, especially when thehelix is of small diameter, say'a quarter of an inch or less, asizewhich heretofore has been difficult to wind. .Another object is toprovide a machine which is largely automatic in character, so that itmay be successfully operated by a person with limited skill orexperience. A further object is to provide a machine of simpleconstruction which can be made much shorter than the helix turned out,thereby economizing floor space.

To these and other ends the invention comprises the novel features andcombinations hereinafter described.

In carrying out the invention in the preferred manner the metal strip isguided and wound on a rotatable but axially stationary mandrel by anon-rotating but axially movable winding headwhich is advanced automatically as the winding proceeds. The winding is effected by rotatingthe helix, for which purpose a revolving chuck is provided, in which thehelix is securely held. The chuck is rotated by a hollow shaft. As thehelix is formed and the winding head advanced thereby, the latter, atthe forward end of its path, actuates a suitable device, as

for example an electric switch, to stop the winding operation. Theattendant then reverses the winding chuck for a revolution or two, so asto loosen the helix on the mandrel, then stops the machine, releases thechuck entirely, and starts the motor again, whereupon a travelingcarriage at the rear of the chuck pulls the helix rearwardly same scaleas Fig. 2.

through the hollow chuck-shaft and off the mandrel. This rearwardmovement of the helix serves also to retract the winding head, andprovlslon is made whereby the arrival of the winding head at the rearend of its path will stop the machine. The attendant now closes thewinding chuck down upon the helix and starts the machine again in'theforward direction. The winding is thusre'sumed and the operationsdescribed above are repeated. As the winding head advances the carriagewhich retracts the helix through the hollow chuck-shaft is brought up toa position near the chuck, where it can engage the helix for the nextretraction thereof. 7

The embodiment outlinedabove is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, inwhich Fig. l is a side view of the machine. Fig. 2 is adetail side view on a larger scale. I

Fig. 3 is a detail plan view, on about the Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are detailcross sections on lines 44, 5-.-5 and 66 of Fig. 2. Y

Figs. 7 and 8 are detail front views of the controlling switch, showingthe same in different operative positions. In these figuresthe switchhousing or box is in cross section.

Fig." 9 is a cross section .on line 99 of Fig. 7.-

Fig. 10 is a sectional plan view on line 1010 of Fig. 8.

The winding chuck 12, mounted on or integral with the tubular shaft 13,is of any suitable construction, as for example such as commonlyemployed in drill presses, having jaws 14 which can be adjusted to gripor release the helix (shownat 15) by turning the square stud 16, usingfor the purpose a'suitable key, not shown. The mandrel 17, on which thehelix is wound, extends forwardly from the chuck and at its front endrests loosely in an upwardly open 100 recess 18 in a Y-shaped support19. The mandrel has a certain amount of fiexiblity, which makes itunnecessary to have the forward end of the mandrel accurately cen--tered. The supporting recess is therefore. made large enough to permitthe mandrel to flex slightly, as'may be necessary to accommodate itselfto any slight inaccurac of centering of itself or the winding hea orboth. In front of the recess 18 the H0 helix .is rotated by the chuck 12the StI lp diameter this opening is slightly larger than the diameter ofthe mandrel plus twice the thickness of the metal strip, indicated at24, which is to be.wound, so that as the will be wound to helical formof corresponding dlameter, produc ng a helix of which the maximum outerdiameter s determined by the size of the die opening 23 and of which theminimum inner diameter is determined by the size of the mandrel, as willbe readily understood. Extending through the side of the head, to thedie opening 23,

is a feed aperture 25 through which the strip is drawn as the windingproceeds, this feed opening'being inclined, to the mandrel and to theaxis of the die opening, accord-- ing to thepitch desired for the helix;Theopening 23 is also preferably but slightly larger, in cross section,than the strip itself, so that the latter will be fed accuratelyinplace. From the foregoing it will be seen that as the helix is formedthe winding head is advanced (from left to right in Fig. 3) justasainonrotatable nut is advanced by the rotation of an axially stationaryscrew.- I

The winding chuck 12 is rotated, in either direction at will, by a motor26, Fig. 1, through the agency of reducing gearing 27, chain 28, andsprockets 29, '30. The start ing and stopping, and the direction ofrota- 'tion of the, motor, are controlled by a switch 31, which may beof the snap type shown in Figs. 7. 8, 9 and 10. The supply leads 32, 33,are connected to the pivots of the switch arms 34, 35, while the motorterminals 36, 37 are connected to contacts 36, 37. Contact iselectrically connected tocontact 36. The switch arms are connected forsimul aneous actuation by a link 39, which is itself actuated, asdescribed below, by a rodttl'extending forwardly (see Figs'rl and 2) andprovided with adjust-- able actuating f ngers 41,42, in the path of lugs43, 44, on the axially movable winding head 21. One of the switch armshas a handle 45, for manual operation of both.

Assuming the switch arms to be in the position shown in Fig. ,7 themotor circuit is closedand the motor drives the chick in the clockwisedirection as viewed from the right of Fig. 2. As the head 21 approachesthe forward end of its path the lug 44 meets finger- 42 and advancesthe: switch rod 40, thereby rocking the switch arms 34, 35, Fig. 7,counterclockwise. During this movement the switch actuating spring 46 iscammed upwardly by the tooth 47 on the end of arm-34 until the point ofthe tooth passes the V-shaped bend of the spring, whereupon the latterby its cam action on.

the other side of the tooth. snaps the arm 34, and with it arm 35, tothe OE position indicated in dotted lines.- Thi'sbreaks the motorcircuit and the motor therefore stops. The attendant then backs off thechuck jaws 14 enough to relieve the pressure of the helix upon themandrel, after which he swings the switch arms to the position shown inFig. 8., in which, as will be seen, the polarity of the currentimpressed on the motor terminals isreversed, thereby starting the motor'in the opposite direction and rotatlng the helix counterclockwise asseen from the right of Fig. 2. This has an unwinding effect -cnthehelix, and two-or three revolutions are usually enough to loosen 1t fromthe mandrel, whereuponthe attendant rocks the switch back to the ofi'position. He then releases theehuck jaws entirely from the helix androcks the switch agaln to the reverseposition, Fig. 8. By the means nowto be described the reverse rotation of the chuck 12, after it is freedfrom the helix, causes the latter to be drawn rearwardly through thechuck and off of the mandrel 17. i

Back'of the. chuck 12 and on the shaft 13 is a clutch member 50, Fig. 2,cooperating with a clutch member 51 splined inside of the hollow hub 52of the bevel gear 53 and urged into frictional contact with the i firstclutch member. by a spring 54. The bevel gear 53 drives a bevel .pinion54, Figs. 2 and 3, on transverse stub shaft 55 having a sprocket 56 forthechain 58,passing over a similar sprocket 60, at the rear or left end,of the machine. The motion of sprocket .56 is transmitted by gears 54,54", -trans-" verse shaft 54, and gears 54 54,to a similar sprocket 57on the other side, having a chain 59 parallel to chain 58 and passing.over a sprocket 61 at the rear, coaxial with sprocket- 60; thesesprockets 6O- and 61 being mounted on stub shafts, as indicated in Fig.3, so as to leave clear the space between the ,sprockets. Between thechains and secured to the upper reaches thereof is a retracting carriage62, suspended from and Y traveling on a rail 63 and provided with anopening 64 for the helix 15. The carriage is also equipped with one ormore cam-pawls 65, arranged to pass idly over the helix as the carriagemoves forward (to the right in Fig. 2) but to grip the helix firmly asthe carriage moves rearwardly. Assuming that the retracting carriage 62is at the forward end of its path, against the stop 66, Fig. 2, itwill'be seenthat when the attendant reverses clutch 12 to effect apartial unwinding of the helix to .loosen it from the mandrel 17 thehelix, beinggripped by the clutch and also by the cam-pawls 65, does notpermit the carriage 62 to be carried back and hence the clutch membersQand 51 slip on each other. When, however, the clutch is released fromthe helix, after the latter is loosened from the mandrel, the resistanceof the helix to backward movement is not suflicient to cause the clutchto slip the reverse direction,

when the chuck shaft 13 is again started in clutch member 51 is rotated,thereby driving sprockets 56, 57 in the counterclockwise direction (Fig.2) and shifting the retracting carriage 62 leftwardly. As the helix isretracted by the leftward movement of the carriage the winding head isretracted at the same time. by the metal strip 24 extending through theguide aperture 25, Fig. 3. As soon as the driving motor is stopped bythe finger 43 actuating the controlling switch. the attendant re-engagesthe chuck 12- upon the helix and starts the motor in the forwarddirection, thereby resuming the helixforming operation. At the same timethe carriage-actuating sprockets 56, 57 are rotated in the clockwisedirection, therebyadvancing the carriage toward the chuck. Upon'reachingthe stop 66, Fig. 2, the carriage is arrested, afterywliich the clutch50-51 slips, as already described, until the motor is stopped.

It will be observed thatthe forward travel of the winding, head 21 perrevolution of the clutch 12 depends entirely upon the pitch of thehelix, and that the forward and rearward travel of the retractingcarriage '62 per clutch-revolution depends'solely upon the ratio of thegears 53-54 and sprockets 56-57 whereas the retracting speed of theWinding head is always exactly thersame as that of the carriage. Henceby suitable design of the'parts involved the retraction of the helix canbe made rapid, so that only a small portion of the'complete cycle is consumed by the retracting operation.

As the helix issues from the rear of the machine it may be allowed tofall on the floor or it may be coiled into a shallow receptacle, notshown, of suitable size.

latter disposition is permitted by the flexi The bilityof the helix,which allows it to rotate on its own axis even though flexed, in themanner of a flexibleshaft. In fact helixes wound by the method describedmake excellent flexible shafts. In winding helixes for the latterpurpose the operator will keep in mind the fact that, in general, thenarrower the strip from which the helix is produced, the more sharplycan the helix be bent without injury.

For making helixes of different outside or inside diameters, or both,winding heads and mandrels of proper sizescan be provided, the necessarysubstitution being easily and quickly made.

and accordingly It is to be understood that the invention isnot limitedto the constructionv herein specifically illustrated and described butcan be embodied in other forms without departure from its spirit. I

1. I11 a helix-winding machine, in con1- bination, a chuck to engage androtate the helix and adapted to permit rearward longitudinal movement ofthe helix through it, an axially movable non-rotatable winding head infront of the chuck and substantially coaxial therewith, said head havinga lateral guide aperture to receive and guide a metal strip and havingaxial die opening to receive the strip and coil the same to helicalform, and a mandrel extending through the die opening and coaxialtherewith.

2. In a helix-winding machine, in combination, a chuck to engage androtate the helix and adapted to permit rearward lon gitudinal movementof the helix through it, an axially movable non-rotatable winding headin front of the chuck and substantially coaxial therewith, said headhaving a lateral guide aperture to receive and guide a metal strip andhaving axial die opening to receive the strip and coil the same tohelical form, a flexible mandrel extending through the die opening andcoaxial there- 90 with, and means for-loosely supporting the forward endof the mandrel to permit the latter to accommodate itself to inaccuratecentering of the winding. head and chuck.

.3. In a helix-winding machine, in com- 100 bination, a chuck to engageand rotate the helix and adapted to permit rearward longitudinalmovement of the helix through it, means for rotating the chuck in eitherdirection' at will, an axially movable non-rotatable I winding head infront of the chuck'and substantially coaxial therewith, said head"having a lateral guide aperture. to receive and guide a metal strip andhaving axial die opening to receive the strip and coil the same tohelical form, the coiling of the strip serving to advance the head inunison thereivith, and means in rear Of the chuck to retract the helixthrough the chuck and simultaneously retract said winding head.

4. In a helix-winding machine, in combination, a chuck to engage androtate the helix'and adapted to permit rearward lon gitudinal movementof the helix through it,

means for rotating the chuck in either direcretract the helix throughthe chuck and simultaneously retract said winding head when the chuck isrotated in. the reverse direction, and actuating meansfor said carri'ageadapted also to advance the same towardthe chuck when the latter isrotated lI1 the forward direction.

chuck and substantially coaxial therewith,

said head having a lateral guide aperture to receive and guide a metalstrip and having an axial die opening to receive the strip and coil thesame to helical form,the coiling of the strip serving to advance thehead in unison therewith, means in rear of the chuck to retract thehelix through the chuck and simultaneously retract said winding head,

and controlling means actuated by the winding head to stop the chuckrotating means when the said winding head reaches a predeterminedpointin'its travel in either direction.

6. In a helix-winding machine, in combination, a chuck to engage androtate the helix and adapted to permit rearward longitudinal movement ofthe helix through it, means for rotating the chuck, an axially movablenon-rotatable winding head in front of the chuck and substantiallycoaxial therewith, (said head having a lateral guide aper ture toreceive and guide a metal strip and having an axial die opening toreceive the strip and coil the same to helical form, the coiling of thestrip by rotation of the chuck in onedirection serving toadvancethe'head in unison therewith, means in rear of the chuck toretract the helix'through the chuck and simultaneously retract saidwinding head when the chuck is rotated in the re-' verse direction, andmanual controlling 'means for the chuck rotating means "to determinethe-direction of rotation of the chuck.

7 In a helix-winding machine, -in combi ;v

nation, a chuck to engage and rotate the helix and adapted to permitrearward long1- tudinal movement of the, helix through it,

means for rotating the chuck in either direction, an axiallymovablenon-rotatable winding head in front of the chuck andsubstantially coaxial therewifilnsa-id head having a (ill a metal stripand having an axial die'opening to receive the strip and coil the sameto helical form, the coiling of the strip by rotation of the chuck inone direction serving to advance the head in unison therewith, means inrear of the chuck 'to retract the helix through the chuck andsimultaneously retract. said winding head when the chuck is rotated inthe reverse direction, manual controlling means to determine thedirection of rotation ofthe chuck, and automatic means to stop thechuck-rotating means when the winding head reaches a predetermined pointin its travel in either direction.

- S. In a helix-winding machine,'in combination, a chuck to engage androtate the helix and adapted to permit rearward longitudinal movement ofthe helix through .it, means for'rotating the chuck, an axially movablenon-rotatable winding head in front of the chuck and substantiallycoaxial therewith, said head-having a lateralguide aperture to receiveand guide a metal'strip and hav'ing'an axial die opening to receive thestrip and coil the same to helical form, the coiling of the strip byrotation of the chuck serving to advance the head in unison therewith,and automatic means to stop the chuck-rotating means when the winding.head reaches a predetermined point in its travel.

9. In a helix-winding machine, in combination, a chuck to engage androtate the helix and adapted to permit rearward longitudinal movement ofthe helix through it,

an axially movable non-rotatable winding head in front of the chuck andsubstantially coaxial therewith, .said head having a lateral guideaperture to receive and guide a metal strip and having an axialdie-opening to receive the stripand. coil the same to helical form, thecoilingof the strip by rotation of the chuck serving to advance the'head in unison therewith, and a rotatable axially stationary mandrelextending forwardly through said die-opening and coaxial therewith. y pg I 10. In a helix-winding machine, in combination, a chuck to. engageand rotate the helix and adapted to permit rearward longitudinalmovement of the helfi: through it, an axially-movable non-rotatablewinding 1 head in front of the chuck and substantially coaxialtherewith, said head having alateral guide aperture to receive and guidea metal strip and having an axial die-opening to receive the strip and.coil the same to helical" form, the coiling of the strip by rotation ofthe chuck serving to-advance the head in unison therewith, a flexiblemandrel extending forwardly through the die-opening. in

- said head and coaxial therewith, and means lateral guide aperture toreceive and guide for loosely supporting the forward end of the mandreland preventing longitudinal.

movement thereof.

In testimony whereof I hereto aflix iny signature. i ALLAN H. JONES.

